Thames Valley officers arrest more than 100 people in Christmas drink-driving campaign so far

Thames Valley Police have released a video to accompany their drink driving campaign which uses a morgue as a metaphor

Published:11:59Thursday 17 December 2015

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Thames Valley Police has arrested 135 people so far in its Christmas drink-driving and drug-driving campaign.

The ‘Where will you end up tonight?’ campaign has seen 111 men and 24 women arrested.

In total, 78 of those arrested have been charged, with 41 bailed and 16 released with no further action.

As part of the campaign, the force has released a video for the campaign which features a young woman who believes that she wakes up after a night out – only for the viewer to realise that her body is in a mortuary.

So far the video has been viewed over 275,000 times on Facebook and YouTube, and the Facebook post has been seen by more than 770,000.

Road safety Sgt Chris Appleby said: “Unfortunately, as we can see from the number of arrests made during the first 13 days of campaign, some people are still making the wrong choices, deciding to drink or drug-drive when there are alternatives available. And these are just the people we catch.

“Drink-driving is dangerous and it kills or seriously injures many people each year, devastating families.

“I’m grateful for the public support for this campaign, and I’m pleased so many people across Thames Valley and Hampshire have been made aware of the campaign and are sharing it on social media.

“We’ll continue to target drink-drivers every single day of the year, not just during campaign periods. It’s not worth the risk.”

The Joint Roads Policing Unit (RPU) will conduct random drink/speed and seatbelt checks at all times across Thames Valley and Hampshire.

Drivers will be asked to provide a specimen of breath in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 1988. Where there is no suspicion of alcohol, no moving traffic offences or involvement in a road collision, drivers will be offered the opportunity to participate in the campaign and provide a sample on a voluntary basis. The reasons for these checks will be explained to drivers and the RPU asks for the motoring public’s support in relation to these checks.

Across the country, last year’s Christmas drink-drive reduction campaign saw 133,996 drivers being tested, with a 4.39 per cent failure rate.

All drivers who either provide a positive breath test, refuse to provide or fail to provide, face losing their licence for at least 12 months. They could go to prison for six months or pay a fine of up to £5,000.

If you suspect someone is drinking or taking drugs, and then driving, call police on 101 or, if it’s an emergency, dial 999. If you don’t want to speak to police or give your name, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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